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History of Central River Heights

Central RiverHeights was part of the old City of Winnipeg that amalgamated with surrounding municipalities to become part of the City of Winnipeg which came into legal existence on January 1, 1972.

Winnipeg's southwest area had been annexed by the City of Winnipeg in 1882, becoming Ward 1. Housing development first began along the Assiniboine and Red rivers - what became known as FortRouge and Crescentwood. Desirable and highly priced property was developed during the pre-World War I period and these neighbourhoods became the home for some of the City's wealthiest families. Much further west, the City was developing one of its largest public parks, CityPark (now AssiniboinePark), officially opened in 1909 while the Province of Manitoba had chosen to build its sprawling AgriculturalCollege (officially opened in 1906) nearby.

The land between Fort Rouge/Crescentwood and the City Park/Agricultural College sites in what would become the Town of Tuxedo, was first organized in the early 1900s, newspaper advertisements touting it as an excellent investment. Among the first developers in the area were Howey and Borebank, real estate developers who had previously worked with Charles Enderton (1864-1920) to organize and market Crescentwood. [1] The neighbourhood would ultimately encompass all the land south of Academy Road and north of Taylor Avenue between Kenaston Boulevard and Cambridge Street.

But the actual residential development was slow in coming. Construction up to World War I was confined mainly to the northeast corner of the area, especially Oxford, Montrose and Elm streets north of Kingsway. After the War, most of the lots north of Corydon Avenue filled with single-family homes and in the 1950s, much of the southern half of the neighbourhood was finally developed. The community was very much middle- to upper-income, many of the families with British heritage.

Associated with the development was the creation of important services and facilities including schools, parks and playgrounds, commercial property and churches. There is mention of a River Heights Community Club being organized as early as 1919 and several years later, land was set aside by the City of Winnipeg south of Grosvenor Avenue (originally Haskins) and west of Corydon Avenue (originally Jackson). [2]